Jan. 19, 2006
Against UAB
This is the 35th meeting in the history of the match-up with the Blazers, and Memphis leads the overall series 24-10. UAB is trying to snap a four-game Lady Tiger winning streak in the overall series, including a 51-47 win in Birmingham last year for the Lady Tigers, Memphis' last C-USA road win.
24 Straight for No. 23
Junior guard Devin Necaise has gone to the free-throw line and converted on each of her last 24 attempts, dating back to the Arizona State game on Dec. 2nd. The 24-game streak is believed to be the longest in school history since at least 1992.
Necaise, a 91.9 percent shooter from the line ranks 8th in the nation in free throw percentage. For her career, the Necaise Crossing native shoots 86.2 percent from the line. She shot 78.4 percent as a freshman, 87.1 as a sophomore and now 92.7 this season.
After hitting single digits in the Lady Tigers' first four home games, Necaise has hit double digits in 9 of the past 11 games, unfortunately for the Lady Tigers this past weekend, the SMU game was a single digit game where Necaise finished with seven points.
Losing Streak Extends to Seven Games
With an 0-2 record on the road in league play last weekend, the Lady Tigers' losing streak is now seven games. The last time a Memphis team dropped seven straight games was in 2001-02 when the Lady Tigers lost the last seven games of the season. The longest losing streak in Memphis history was 12 games, from 1989-90.
Bradley's Block Party
Senior center Jamie Bradley continues to be a force in the middle on defense, stuffing a career-high four blocks again on Sunday at Tulsa. Bradley leads the Lady Tigers with 19 blocks on the season, the highest block total for the Lady Tigers since Raven Rogers had 30 blocks in 2003-04. Bradley is looking to become the first Lady Tiger since Melissa Abraham in 2001 to post a block in five consecutive games.
Some Freshman Scoring History
Lady Tiger freshman Paris Leonard (Memphis, Tenn./Wooddale HS) is writing some freshman history. Leonard is the first Memphis freshman since Tamika Whitmore in 1995-96 to average double-digit scoring. Leonard leads the team with 14.2 ppg heading into the UAB game. Whitmore averaged 10.4 ppg.
Wear Tiger Blue, Get in Free
As part of Tiger Pride Night, fans who wear a blue Tiger shirt will receive free admission to Friday's game against UAB. This will be Memphis' only home game this weekend, as the Lady Tigers fly to New Orleans on Saturday to face Tulane on Sunday. The Lady Tigers will be the first Memphis sports team to travel in to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.
